All We Have Is Each Other
by olawah18
Summary: It's constant and necessery, moving. If they even stop for a moment bad things will catch up. Fighting what's stronger then them isn't easy but they'll make it happen.


PR

Tori perched on top of a smooth rock sharpening a stick into a point as she gently bobbed her head to the loud music coming from the ear buds in her ears. A chilly wind blew in from her left, cold and wet. Below her, a river rushed and sparkled in the golden sun, curving through the valley of leafless trees. The air smelled cold, wet, and a tiny bit like animal waste. Tori's sense of smell had increased tens fold in the last few months.

This wasn't her first time hiking. She had once hiked a lot with her father, before he got his promotion and his work schedule became more full and demanding. This was her first time hiking on her own, however, and both of her parents had issues with that especially considering her recent mood. She needed to think though, and clear her mind. Nothing had worked better then a hike in the woods. She wished she had picked better weather to hike in though. That way she wouldn't be crunching over ice and tripping over frozen roots. The further she went the worse the conditions got, but now she had made it this far, she couldn't turn back now. She was on a mission. She had to prove to herself that her worth had lessoned because her hearing was slowly going away.

It had happened on stage at the year's big showcase. She and Andre had worked all summer on a song they could perform together. She had light buzzing in her ear and sudden cases of dizziness all summer but nothing she felt needed attention. She was on stage and doing her thing when her hearing went out completely. It had been one of the most embarrassing and scariest experiences of her life.

Completely rare and incurable for someone her age, Of course her doctor had assured she could get hearing aids and maybe even surgery to help out a little. The news did nothing for Tori whose life had become about music, singing, and performing. Things she would likely never get to do again - at least not well. She was on medication for the vertigo and dizziness that accompanied her disease, only the medication in her opinion made thing worse rather than better. Like now, she had one of the world's worst headaches throbbing against her skull.

She was in therapy because apparently her parents could see a change in her. One they obviously didn't like. It had been weeks since the girl had gone back to Hollywood Arts - why would she go to a school for _performing arts_? She couldn't exactly perform anymore. It had also become her duty in life to avoid her friends and their pity-filled gazes. She wasn't _Tori _anymore, what that meant exactly she wasn't really sure.

No one could help with how bad she missed hearing though, and how bad it frightened her to be capable of hearing one moment and for it to gone the next. How easy it was to forget how a crowed sounded, how a tweeting bird sounded, how her own voice truly sounded.

She removed her ear buds; she had the volume all the way up and could still barely hear the music coming through her pear phone. Gently sighing she wrapped the ear phones around the cell phone and shoved it into her pocket. A rhythmic beat, a sound between a busy highway and a race care track, entered her limited hearing. A moment later, she caught a brief view of a plane - likely single engine - buzzing over head, heading north. Her eyes dropped to her watch and nodded her head. It was noon.

The tiny plane vanished leaving the world very quiet and hollow for Tori. Then, something - bright and pink - moved out of the corner of her eye, to her left. Her brows furrowed in annoyance once fully turned around to face her visitor.

Trina looked absolutely miserable in her bright rain coat.

_I_

Her sister breathed heavily and stared at her. Then Trina's head turned and shouted, "come on dad! I found her!"

Tori let her annoyance fester inside of her gut. Of course they wouldn't have let her come up here alone, and she realized she really should have guessed they would follow. _Wonderful, how am I suppose to think with Trina here? _

"Good!" A moment later their father appeared with a walking stick. He was dressed in a dark green blazer with a black sweater underneath and black cargo pants. He had a hatched on his hip along with a flash light and a radio. He was also slightly out of breath, from not hiking in years. Their mother never went camping, so there was no surprise at her absents. She was actually surprised Trina had come. "Tori!" Her father signed a simple 'Are you alright?'

The girl stared at them blankly before blinking. "I can hear right now, dad." She told him dryly, standing from her rock. "I thought you said you would let me come up by myself."

Her father ran a hand through his damp hair. "I did, now we're here to help you come back down."

"I don't need help." She mumbled. "Besides, I'm not at the top yet and I doubt Trina wants to make that trip up."

"She's right, I don't." Trina huffed reaching for Tori's flask and drinking greedily from it.

"The weather's suppose to get bad up here, Tori. Can't you do this another time?" Asked smiling.

"No" She answered simply. His smile wavered and fell away.

"We met one of your friends on the way up here." He lets her bad attitude roll off of him, getting use to this new Tori. The news got Tori's attention and she looked at Trina who was looking around for a clean place to sit. Good luck with that.

"Which one?"

"Robbie, the one with the curls." He tells her. "I think he's with his grandpa."

"Oh" Is all Tori can think of to say.

"At least have lunch with us, Tori." Her father said. "Your mother made the type of trail mix she use to."

_I_

"This is squirrel food." Trina complained.

She went ignored by the other two Vega's who were making themselves cups of coffee from a boiling pot. "The river water always makes the coffee tastes better." Her father commented taking a sip after adding creamer.

"You guys do get that fishes pee in that water right? Along with bears and people?" Trina asked, eyeing them with disgust. "Ewww"

"Trina honey, you don't have to drink any." Mr. Vega said tiredly.

"You drank the water from my flask." Tori said, slightly amused. "I hadn't even boiled that yet." Trina began to heave. Then she looked up at Tori and started ranting about whatever, only Tori couldn't hear her. Tori's gut churned and she glanced at her dad, who must have guessed something was wrong because he lightly shook Trina's shoulder and shook his head.

Tori pulled her phone out of her pocket and jammed her ear buds into her ears, turning the volume up and closed her eyes. She wasn't really sure why she opened them but when she had and saw the look on her dad's face, great amounts of panic gripped her.

His face had twisted to one of pain and his hands had gone to his temples. He was saying something only she couldn't hear it. Alarmed, she reached for him right as Trina did and he collapsed to the ground. Trina was shouting something. Then, bright red blood rose from his mouth and onto the ground.

Then her ears popped and pain exploded inside of her head.

_I_

Her ears burned with intense hot awful pain and she yanked the melted ear buds from her ear. The ringing in her ears grew worse than it ever had and her vision tilted and blurred, then she fell. Something rose in her throat and up into her mouth and down her chin.

All she could do was laid on the ground. She coughed the blood in her throat choking her; her vision was a tilting blur of colors, green, and brown, pink. The loud ringing was still going on, no longer a dull ache inside her head, but coming from above. What is that? She managed to get her head from the ground as she tried to focus.

She blinked closing her eyes again, shaking her head. Then a scream tore out behind her. She quickly looked over her shoulder at the wolves heading her way. They were whimpering and howling loudly, running into one another, and then they turned left, throwing themselves off the cliff.

Birds all around them took flight into the air, bumping and flying into one another, bird screams filling the air.

She was heaving onto the ground the next moment. When everything to throw up was gone, the girl remained on all fours, heaving. She felt tingly as if a thousand little needles were in every inch of her body. Her heart was moving unhealthy fast. The world was swimming and she was shaking. Warm liquid dripped down both sides of her face and she touched it, her fingers coming back bloody.

_What in the…_

"Dad?"

Tori's head snapped up to look at her sister, who was bent over their father, blood coating her face but the older girl looked fine other than that.

"What - Dad?" Her voice loudly shrieked as she began to shake the man. "Dad!"

Tori crawled towards her still motionless father, who was actually laying in a pool of his own blood. Her heart heavy in her chest. Trina bent forward coming out of her stupor and began to attempt CPR. All Tori could do was watch her sister try, but it became evident fairly quickly that there was no use.

When Trina pulled away and backed away, her eyes wide, Tori moved forward and felt her father's sticky clammy skin for a pulse. There wasn't one.

"What happened?" Trina asked shaking her head, tears falling quickly down her cheeks. "He was fine!" She whispered.

Then she realized she could hear Trina's whisper, even though she was a feet away, clearly. They sat in silence for a while, but Tori could hear everything. A cricket, the river rushing below them, her sister's heavy breathing, everything. Not only hearing the loudest noises but, everything.

"We have to leave." Tori suddenly said, something wasn't right. "We have to go find help." She moved to her sister and helped the girl to her feet.

"What about our dad?" Trina cried her eyes still on his body. "We can't leave him here like this."

"We have to leave him for now." Tori explained, her own heart aching at the thought. Trina looked unwilling to move. Tori reached for her pack which was nearby and rummaged through it until she found her map. "All we have to do is get to a ranger station." She then pointed to the closest one, which was really far away. It was higher up and a very difficult track, she hadn't ever done one as difficult without her father. It would take longer to go back down though. They were both big girls they could make it their in a day, a little longer.

"Then we can find someone to help?" Trina asked. Then the older girl's eyes widen. "What if some wild animals get him while we're gone?"

"That won't happen." Tori lied. She hoped it wouldn't happen. She moved towards her phone and picked it up, pressing the button she came to a conclusion that it was broken. Looking down at her watch she found that it was broken too. It was a digital watch and it had a black screen. "Check your phone, Trina." Tori said as she went over to her father's body, cringing, as she tried his radio and his cell phone, all dead. Odd.

"It's dead!" She cried. "It had nearly a full battery an hour ago."

Tori frowned and looked down at her phone again and the melted ear buds. She looked back at her dad's body, "sorry dad." She quietly said removing his watch from his wrist. It was a wind-up watch and still working.

Something had pulsed throughout the air and took out… Tori couldn't figure it out. _Electronics? _What about her dad? Had the awful pulse took out her dad too?

They covered their dad with his old green rain coat, lots of tears. Then they got his hatched and flashlight and the bag he was carrying.

"Should we take his gun too?" Trina asked quietly. Their father as a police officer always carried a Glock. Neither girl had any idea how to use a gun, but they couldn't leave it there for some random person to come by and get.

Trina managed to get the gun and holster from his hip and put it around her own. Then covering the object with her pink rain coat.

_I_

The trail was a nightmare. It was very slippery and nearly covered with dead birds and other small animals; loose rocks and fallen trees - naked and broken. After an hour and a half, her whole body was throbbing; her mouth was dry, and her face very sweaty. She glanced back at Trina, who looked worse then she felt. The older girl had never enjoyed hiking. She came to a decision to take a water break and her and Trina shared a bit of their water.

They continued on quietly, their boots slipping and sliding along the wet earth. Then sharp: _Pop-Pop-Pop! _

_Gunshots_? Trina slipped, landing on her butt, while Tori whipped her head around as she quickly sunk to the ground. Someone was shooting? More closer shots rang out and Trina moved closer to her, quietly whimpering. The water bottle in her hands fell away and tumbled down the incline and out of sight. They didn't move.

They sat up camp - Trina sitting against a fallen tree trunk, looking worn and confused and ready to lose it. Tori attending to the fire they had going and checking their supplies - she was thankful their food situation was fine.

"Who do you think was shooting?" Trina asked.

"I dunno…" Tori mumbled. Someone maybe hunting and that could be bad for them. Tori frowned and sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" An odor like rotten eggs was coming to her. It was very strong.

Trina frowned and sniffed the air. "No… Why?"

Tori shrugged it off and decided it was time to set up their shelter a tarp would do. The odd odor came back and this time the girl took a deeper sniff and almost gagged. Rotten, diseased, stagnant, were a few words to describe the horrible odor. It was almost as if she could taste it.

Tori turned around to tell Trina about it only to find the older girl backing away from a thick row of bushes, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Then she could hear it, growls and snarls coming from the area Trina was backing up from. Trina turned around to look at her, her face full of fear. Tori slowly walked over getting to the ground and crawling over.

Tori had no doubt that whatever had her sister horrified; she was going to regret viewing. She moved forward anyway the wet earth seeping through her pants and sticks and rocks digging into her. When she was beside Trina she could see what had her sister so horrified through the thickness of the bushes. Her blood ran cold.

_I am not… can't be… no_

_I_

There was another camp on the other side on the bushes. One with turned over tents and a messy camp, food, clothes, and camping gear all over. Tori swallowed hard when her eyes fell on the burnt out fire and the two people near it : a girl and a boy.

The girl had black hair and wore a pink sweatshirt with the words NORTH RAM HIGH and smaller words said JV TRACK. She had seen a bus on the way up with the high school name on it and guessed they were from that bus. The boy had long limps and he wore a light green jacket that also said JV Track. They looked like a perfect high school couple. Yeah… Only, there was this woman lying on the ground, head thrown back mouth wide open.

Her skin was ripped, her throat torn out. There was blood all over - dried all over the woman. The boy and girl weren't bothered as they ate. Greedily they stuffed their faces, which were coated in blood. The boy stuck his hand back into the woman's wide open abdomen, fishing around before yanking out a handful of soft mushy fleshy and bringing it up to his awaiting mouth.

_Oh. My. God. _Tori's stomach churned.

Then the girl growled and grabbed at the boy's meal, but they boy grunted angrily and moved away. The girl glared at the boy, _furious _he was refusing to share. Then, she turned away and reached for the woman's neck getting her own meal.

Trina gasped. _Oh man…_ Tori mentally panicked as the teens went completely still. Raising their heads up into the air and taking deep sniffs. Tori could see right away that they both needed to get away. It wasn't very dark yet, they could get away. Only these…cannibals, we're on track teams, growled, and grunted like animals. Trina was clumsy too.

Then a crow squawked hoping bravely over the half-eaten body and tried its luck at a little left over body. Quicker then Tori could catch, the boy caught the unfortunate crow around the neck. The crow wasn't going down without a fight and began fighting back, clawing and screaming, getting both teens attentions. It almost got away.

Manic track star girl lunged after the bird, faster than any high school track member Tori had ever seen. The bird screamed the girl laughed insanely.

"Go," Tori whispered harshly to Trina. "Run; go, go, go, run, go down the trail!" Trina didn't have to be told twice as she quickly got up and scurried, thudding away loudly. Tori reached for the hatched at her hip, glancing at the ugly scene as the track star caught her prize. No reason to see anymore, Tori turned, and quickly ran after Trina.

_I_

"What in the hell was that, Tori?" Trina was pale and freaking out. They huddled together in a small cave, which was really just a hole in a rock. They were freezing.

"I dunno… we'll be fine though." They had run for hours using the lowering sun, then the one flashlight they had until they found the cave.

Over half of their food was gone, left behind at the camp when they made their get-away. They only had the bag Tori carried on her back which only had a few granola bars.

"I'm hungry." Trina announced suddenly. Tori handed her half of a granola bar, which had Trina bawling and hugging her. Tori awkwardly patted her back.

"It won't be to long until the ranger station." Tori assures. "You guys told mom you would check in right? She will call someone if you guys don't." Trina sniffed loudly.

Tori tried to think what was going. She hadn't lost her hearing in hours, which was completely unusual, what happened to their dad was… unusual, what happened with the teens and the… eating, was also… very beyond unusual. _Is everything related? _If so… was it only affecting the mountain?

_What was up with those teens? _She honestly didn't even want to think about it. Then she remembered the gun shots, maybe those weren't hunters.

"Do you think we'll start acting like that boy and girl?" Trina somehow read her mind.

Tori couldn't understand why Trina was asking her. She was the older one. Trina should have all the answers not her.

"It hasn't happened yet." Tori told her. "I think we need to try to sleep. We have to get to the ranger's station tomorrow. Trina fell asleep fifteen minutes later, but Tori couldn't close her eyes without the horrible events repeating themselves. Instead she untangled herself from Trina and crawled out of their shelter only to crawl right back in.

The moon was green and the tiny stars much larger and glowed red.

_I_

It was taking them longer then Tori thought it would to reach a ranger station. It was two and a half days after the 'BIG POP', and they were running low on food, the moon was still green and stars still on fire. Tori's stomach was hollow and she was weak from lack of food, her optimism was quickly vanishing. Her and Trina both had lost a good amount of weight and they hardly talked - to exhausting. They took more breaks and longer breaks.

Sunsets were unusually bright now, almost blinding. Tori was sure it had everything to do with all the other odd stuff going on. They were finally settling down in their shelter, Trina was giving her the cold shoulder for some reason. Not taking any of the water she offered the next morning.

"If you hadn't been so bitter and angry, we wouldn't be in this mess right now." Trina suddenly said. Looking very upset. "Then dad wouldn't have come up here looking for you and…" Her voice cracked.

Tori pressed her lips together. "Trina…"

"I have to use the bathroom." Trina crawled from their shelter. Tori started to stop her but realized that Trina needed to be alone right now. Besides they hadn't ran into any trouble for days. She would be fine for a while.

When ten minutes had gone by, Tori cursed herself as she quickly slid from the tiny shelter. "Trina!" She whispered harshly. No answer. She closed her eyes and listened intently, her hearing had grown a thousand times better since the 'BIG POP' and she could hear most things. They had found rivers and streams using that newly required gift.

Then she heard it, a human whimper - sounding maybe fifty feet away. She took off in the noises direction she had gone at least half a mile when she caught the welcomed sight of her sister's rain coat. Her sister was talking to someone that from her vantage was hidden, but Trina wasn't afraid so it quickly put her at ease.

Tori opened her mouth to call out to her sister, but yellow flashed out of the corner of her eye and she turned just as the odor hit her, nearly right as the man did. She hit the ground hard and her and the foul smelling man tumbled down the tiny incline.

The tattered looking man landed a few feet away from her but was back up on his feet in seconds. By luck and pure instinct alone, Tori managed to roll up to face the grunting man ignoring the awful pain running through her.

Tori blood ran cold as she looked the crazed man in his cloudy eyes. He was old she guessed, it was actually hard to tell with most of his body covered in blood and all.

"Grandpa!" Robbie came clumsily sliding down the incline, her father gun in his hands. "Look over here, Grandpa!"

Grandpa whipped around to face him and grunted and growled like an angry animal. Robbie looked completely horrified but his hands were totally stable. "I'm really, really sorry, Grandpa." He quietly said, and squeezed the trigger.

Tori had ducked and covered her head, only looking up when the body thumped to the ground. The man's face looked worse than it had before.

"Tori!" She could hear Trina cry and feel her arms wrap around her. She couldn't take her eyes off the man's body.

PR


End file.
